Red velvet brownies with a tangy cheesecake filling swirled through. These brownies are soft and fudgy with a vibrant red batter and thick, velvety cheesecake filling. Quick and simple to make and simply beautiful.
Time to prep : 15 minutes
Time to bake : 25 - 30 minutes
Serves : 9
Ingredients
110g butter
200g granulated sugar
2 eggs
1.5 tbsp red food colouring* (I use this one)
2 tsp vanilla extract
90g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
Cheesecake swirl
180g cream cheese
60g granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
Method
Pre-heat a fan oven to 160°C. Grease and line an 8 x 8" square baking tin.
Make the cheesecake swirl by using a handheld or electric whisk to beat the cream cheese until it's smooth. Add in the sugar, egg yolk and vanilla and whisk again. It should be thick, creamy and even in colour with no lumps. Set to one side.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat or in the microwave. Pour the melted butter into a large mixing bowl with the granulated sugar and whisk until combined. Add in the eggs and whisk again until you have a smooth, pale yellow batter. Add in the food colouring and the vanilla extract, whisk until even in colour.
In a small mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Stir to combine and then add this into the wet batter ingredients. Fold through until even in colour with no streaks of flour. It should be a thick, red batter.
Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking tin. Use a teaspoon to dollop spoonfuls of the cheesecake mixture on top of the red brownie batter and then use a skewer, toothpick or the end of a knife to swirl the cheesecake mixture into the brownie batter.
Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until set but with a slight wobble in the middle (they will continue to bake and set out the oven).
Leave to cool at room temperature completely before slicing.
Nutritional information:
(per slice)
340 cals
19g fat, 38g carbs, 5g protein
Good to know:
Vegetarian.
To make this gluten-free use GF flour.
Use a concentrated food colouring dye gel as oppose to a water based one. The colours of these are more concentrated meaning you need to use less and they have a more vibrant colour.
You can double the ingredients and use a 9 x 13" baking tin to make 18 of these. You might need to bake them for 5 - 10 minutes longer.
Be careful to not over bake the brownies, they should have a slight wobble in the middle when you take them out of the oven. This will keep them soft and fudgy in the middle and stop the cheesecake swirl from catching too much colour in the oven.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge.